Bihar Minister Shreyasi Singh Faces Backlash Over ‘Moral Policing’ Remark In Jamui Harassment Case

Nationwide outrage has followed the alleged harassment of a boy and a girl in Bihar’s Jamui district. Local MLA and minister Shreyasi Singh condemned the incident and said five people have been arrested so far.

Singh drew criticism for her remarks on “moral policing”, even as she called the treatment of the two “absolutely not tolerable”.

Singh’s comments came as the case drew wider attention after video clips circulating on social media purportedly showed the girl being groped. Five people have been arrested so far in the case.

Speaking to India Today, Singh said, “Moral policing can be done in a more decent and elegant fashion. But the way they mishandled and mistreated the boy and girl together is absolutely not tolerable."

Singh Clarified Her Remarks

Singh later clarified that while people may have opinions about how others choose to live their lives, there are better and more respectful ways to express such views.

Condemning the incident, Singh questioned how members of the community could treat the two in such a manner. “They must have known that this boy and girl are kids from Jamui. I can’t fathom the fact that they were treated this badly by the people of the community living there,” she said.

The minister also said she would ensure that those responsible were held accountable and could not escape action. “This incident needs to set a precedent for the future,” Singh added.

Political Reaction

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) national spokesperson Priyanka Bharti reacted to Shreyasi Singh’s remark on X.

“There’s a proper way to harass too! Have you ever heard of it? Jamui MLA and Minister Shreyasi Singh is explaining the ‘polite way of moral policing’. And Samrat ji, the day is about to end, where’s the resignation? And where is that lady who roams around in a Rolls Royce, hiding in which bill? Ah, we’re all hiding here,” she wrote.

Police Arrests And Probe

The girl and the boy, who were said to be studying at the same coaching centre, were stopped on the road by a group of people who harassed them. The incident came to light after video clips circulating on social media purportedly showed the girl being groped.

Police have arrested five people so far. Two of them were nabbed on Tuesday after an encounter with police in which both were injured, as News18 reported.

“Both Nandan and Hareram have been hospitalised. Earlier, we had picked up three minors, who will be dealt with by the juvenile justice board,” Deputy Inspector General of Police, Munger Range, Rakesh Kumar, said.

“We may pick up a few more people after interrogating Hareram and Nandan upon their recovery. From the video clip, it was not clear exactly how many persons were involved in the incident. However, we can safely say that the main accused have been caught. In fact, it was Hareram who was seen in the clip with his face wrapped in a scarf, leading the group,” Kumar added.